Liverpool icon explains why potential Klopp heir is ‘ideal choice’ amid ‘exceptional’ work at club
Dietmar Hamann thinks Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso is the “ideal choice” to replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool at the end of the season.
Alonso is the favourite to become the next Reds manager with Klopp leaving in the summer.
He is doing a fantastic job in Germany, guiding Leverkusen to the top of the Bundesliga with 16 wins and four draws from 20 league matches this term.
On top of that, Leverkusen have won all of their Europa League and DfB Pokal matches in 2023/24, meaning they are unbeaten in 29 games across all competitions, scoring a ridiculous 87 goals in the process.
The German side’s incredible form and the fact Alonso used to play for Liverpool makes him the natural choice to replace Klopp in the Anfield dugout.
And Alonso’s former Reds team-mate, Hamann, thinks the Spaniard is the best choice out there.
“I think if anyone can do it it’s Xabi,” he told talkSPORT. “He’s loved by the people, he’s been a brilliant player and what he’s doing at Leverkusen is exceptional.
“Obviously there’s a danger to going in after Klopp, the pressure and the expectations will be high, but I think they will have a team – if they keep them together – that competes for the Premier League next season.
“People talk about [Roberto] De Zerbi, [Ange] Postecoglou, Liverpool is different and he [Alonso] knows what the club is like, he’s loved by the fans, for me I think he would be the ideal choice. If he sees it the same way, I’m not too sure.
“If you look at Liverpool, Liverpool is a special and unique club and I think the success of Klopp was down to the relationship he’s had with the players, the fans and the city, he changed the mentality in the whole city.”
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Asked what makes Leverkusen so special under Alonso, Hamann said: “They just play fantastic football.
“I think what he does is gives a lot of players an awful lot of confidence because they had some good players before, but when he took over they were third or fourth from bottom last year, within six or 12 months he turned them into title contenders.
“They play Bayern Munich on Saturday which is a big one, and some of the players look like new players. He gives them responsibility, and if you give players responsibility most of the time they do pay it back.
“In [Florian] Wirtz they have probably got the best German player in their team, [Victor] Boniface they brought in from Belgium and he’s scoring goals, and they also lost four or five players to the Africa Cup of Nations. They’re coming back slowly now and [what makes him special is] he’s a man manager.”
On their Bundesliga title chances, Hamann added: “They have a chance, I think they won’t get beaten next week and they’ll go into the final games with a lead.
“If they were to win the league it would be sensational, and maybe if he wins it he’ll think ‘this is as far as I can go, let’s take up a new challenge’ Liverpool is different, can he do it? I think if anyone can do it after Klopp it will be him.”
